Trump Looking Into Firing Powell, Kevin Hassett Says

The president has criticized Powell for not bringing down interest rates, arguing lowering rates would save ‘trillions of dollars in interest cost’ on debts.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks next to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington on March 7, 2025. Leah Millis/File Photo/Reuters

President Donald Trump is looking at removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the post, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said in a July 13 interview with ABC News.

When asked whether the president had the authority to fire the Fed chair, Hassett replied: “That’s a thing that’s being looked into. But certainly, if there’s cause, he does.”

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, recently criticized Powell, raising concerns about the $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, which is already $700 million over budget.

Hassett was asked whether this could be a reason to fire Powell from the post of Fed chair.

“This is the most expensive project in D.C. history, $2.5 billion with a $700 million cost overrun,” he said. “To put that in perspective, the cost overrun for this Federal Reserve project is about the same size as the second biggest building overhaul in American history, which was the FBI building. And so, the Fed has a lot to answer for.”

Whether Trump deems this a reason to remove Powell “is going to depend a lot on the answers that we get to the questions that Russ Vought sent to the Fed,” he added.

Trump has consistently criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates. In a June 30 Truth Social post, the president said Powell and the Fed Board “have one of the easiest, yet most prestigious, jobs in America, and they have FAILED — And continue to do so.”

The Fed should have set rates between 0.25 and 1.75 percent, like other nations such as Japan, Denmark, Cambodia, and Switzerland, he said. At present, the Fed’s benchmark interest rate sits in a range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent. In June, the Fed kept rates unchanged for its fourth straight meeting.

The Fed’s interest rate decisions significantly affect the economy, determining interest rates on debts taken by the government, businesses, and citizens.

“If they were doing their job properly, our Country would be saving Trillions of Dollars in Interest Cost,“ Trump said. ”The Board just sits there and watches, so they are equally to blame. We should be paying 1 percent Interest, or better!”

Powell justified the Fed’s stance with concerns about inflation. After the central bank’s June 18 meeting, he said inflation continues to be “somewhat elevated relative to our 2 percent longer-run goal.”

The effect of the Trump administration’s tariffs on inflation could take some time to be visible as it makes its way through the distribution chain “to the end consumer,” he said.

“For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” he said.

In a July 11 post, ING Bank said that if Powell is removed or resigns from his post before his term ends in May 2026, there could be a “new round of severe downward volatility” in the U.S. dollar, adding that the damage “would be there to stay.”

The bank predicted that in the initial phase, there would be a sell-off in long-dated Treasuries.

“At a later stage, the depth of the damage done to the dollar would depend on the actual direction taken by the Fed under the new Chair,” it said.

On June 27, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that any replacement for Powell will be “somebody that wants to cut rates.”

In a July 9 Truth Social post, Trump said the current Fed rates were “AT LEAST 3 Points too high.” Powell was “costing the U.S. 360 Billion Dollars a Point, PER YEAR, in refinancing costs,” he said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the value of the overrun of the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters stated by Kevin Hassett. The Epoch Times regrets the error.